A door edge guard protects the trailing edge of an automotive vehicle door from damage, paint chipping for example, which might otherwise be caused by the trailing edge striking an object which is present in the trailing edge's path when the door is swung open. A door edge guard which is self-retaining relies on metal of a metal body to provide self-retention without separate fasteners or adhesives.
A typical automotive vehicle door edge comprises a margin of an outer door panel being wrapped around and clinched onto a margin of an inner door panel. That construction creates what is sometimes called a door hem flange. The procedure for installing a door edge guard on a vehicle door edge is not complicated. It is typically performed by aligning an open throat of a door edge guard with a door hem flange and using a mallet which will not damage the door edge guard to carefully pound the door edge guard onto the door hem flange. A door edge guard may have a long dimension (length) for fitting to the entire length of a door edge, or a long dimension for fitting to only a fraction of the door edge length.
Self-retention force is developed by elastic deformation of the original cross sectional shape of the door edge guard's metal. Such deformation can occur in various ways which depend on the specific design of the door edge guard. For example, the sides may resiliently spread apart as the door edge is being installed.
A door edge guard is typically installed on a door edge only after the door itself has been finished and painted. In order to prevent installation of a door edge guard from disrupting the construction of a finished door along the door edge, such as by displacing sealant which seals the inner door panel to the outer door panel or by marring the paint finish, a thin non-metallic layer is applied to the surface of the door edge guard metal along at least surface portions which will come into contact with the door edge. The non-metallic layer may be applied to additional surface portions as well, even to the point of application of all surfaces, including surfaces which would be considered edges. Such lamination of a non-metallic layer to the metal is commonly performed by extrusion or co-extrusion of non-metallic material onto flat sheet metal stock to create a lamination which is subsequently formed to a finished cross sectional shape. Such forming is commonly performed by machinery which has a series of rollers which roll-form form the flat laminated stock to a desired cross sectional shape.
In many instances a door edge to which a door edge guard is to be fit has a lengthwise contour which conforms the edge to the styling of a vehicle. Such contours are typically other than straight and may have several sections of different contour along the length of the door edge guard. There may be distinct peaks and/or recesses where sections of different contour meet. Notching and overbending are procedures which have been used in door edge guard manufacture in order to enable the contour of a door edge guard, when installed, to conform to that of the door edge and to develop specified self-retention force which assures that the door edge guard properly retains itself on the door edge.